[www.inewsguyana.com] – The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on Friday October 4 ruled in favor of Jamaican Shanique Myrie and awarded her BD$77,240 (US $38,620) in pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages.
The court ruled that the evidence Myrie presented about an illegal cavity search and detention in an unsanitary cell at the Grantley Adams International Airport and subsequent deportation was powerful enough for them to award her BD$2,240 in pecuniary damages and BD$75,000 in non-pecuniary damages.
However, the court dismissed claims that Myrie was discriminated against solely because of her nationality and made no judgment on behalf of the intervener, which is the Jamaican state.
It also ordered that Barbados alter its laws to be in harmony with the Revised Treaty of Chagarumas which speaks to the free movement of Caribbean nationals throughout Caricom.
Myrie had claimed damages against the Barbadian Government after she said she was subjected to a dehumanizing cavity search and verbal abuse upon her arrival at the Grantley Adams International Airport in that island in March 2011.
Lawyers representing Myrie were claiming BD$1 million (J$5 million) in compensation for moral and punitive damages to their client who, they said, was discriminated against because of her nationality.
The attorneys also requested that the CCJ outline precise guidelines regarding the treatment of Caribbean Community (Caricom) nationals at airports throughout the 15 countries in the community.
Myrie had asked the CCJ to determine, under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, the minimum standard of treatment applicable to Caricom citizens moving throughout the region.
She said that the treatment she received at the hands of the Barbadian officials ran contrary to her rights outlined under the revised treaty and obtained permission from the Government of Jamaica to approach the CCJ directly on the matter. (Jamaican Observer)
